China's Yushu Technology Co., also widely known as Unitree Robotics is moving forward with an IPO to raise about 6.1 billion yuan, or approximately 904 million U.S. dollars, which will make it the first mainland Chinese manufacturer of humanoid robots to list on a domestic stock exchange.
Unitree, headquartered in Hangzhou, set its IPO price at 150.80 yuan per share on the STAR Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, according to documents filed on Thursday, 6 Aug 2025 GMT+7. The company plans to offer 40.4 million shares and opened subscriptions for retail investors on 10 Aug 2025 GMT+7.
Recently, Unitree revealed it received overwhelming demand from retail investors, with subscription orders exceeding 8,000 times the number of shares offered.
Unitree’s stock market debut comes as Embodied Artificial Intelligence, or AI robots, is emerging as a critical battleground in global AI competition. Humanoid robots have become a strategic focus for Beijing’s government, and Unitree has risen as one of the country's most prominent players in this field.
Unitree has been compared directly to rivals like Tesla and Boston Dynamics. The massive oversubscription of shares underscores the intense investor enthusiasm for AI robotics businesses.
According to the company’s stock exchange filing, retail investors’ allocation rate was only about 0.018%, even after some shares were reallocated from institutional investors to increase retail allotments. This means retail investors’ chances of obtaining Unitree’s new shares were lower than for most Chinese IPOs offered this year.
Besides retail investors, major institutional investors have shown interest in Unitree. One example is DeepSeek, a leading Chinese AI model developer, which invested 140 million yuan for a 2.31% stake in the company.
This collaboration will enable Unitree to leverage DeepSeek’s AI strengths to develop Embodied Intelligence models for its humanoid robots, following sustained public interest.
Additionally, Unitree gained fresh support from Tencent, whose investment arm acquired a 2.23% stake valued at 136 million yuan. Tencent will collaborate with Unitree to develop intelligent models for robots and accelerate the deployment of humanoid robots across diverse environments.
According to the IPO prospectus published last month, Unitree delivered over 5,500 humanoid robots last year, securing the world's top position in shipment volume, while cumulative sales of quadruped robots have surpassed 33,000 units.
The company also received investments from major Chinese tech firms and state-backed investors, including affiliates of Tencent, Alibaba Group, and China Mobile.
Domestic retail investors reportedly view Unitree as strategically vital to China, with its humanoid robots possessing enough potential to rival Elon Musk’s Optimus robot. They also anticipate the stock price will surge multiple times on its first trading day.
SWS Research stated in an analysis that Unitree’s relatively large IPO valuation may attract greater market focus on the commercial value of the robotics industry, potentially leading to a revaluation of stocks across the robotics sector in the future.
Founder Wang Xingxing is expected to retain strong control after the IPO, holding approximately 31.29% of the company’s shares.
Unitree’s business model is based on gaining cost and efficiency advantages by designing and manufacturing parts in-house, rather than assembling components from multiple suppliers.
This strategy, known as vertical integration along the entire product line, is similar to that used by BYD in the automotive sector. It helps the company reduce costs and increase sales, although it still needs to integrate hardware success with stronger AI and software development.
Unitree is a rapidly growing company, with revenue reaching 1.7 billion yuan in 2025, up from 393 million yuan the previous year. Net profit was 278 million yuan last year, with a gross margin exceeding 60%.
Unitree plans to allocate about 4.2 billion yuan of the funds raised to developing Embodied AI models, humanoid robot research, new product projects, and expanding production capacity.
Morgan Stanley views Chinese robotics firms as well-positioned to capture global demand despite rising geopolitical uncertainties. In a report dated 3 Aug 2025 GMT+7, it noted that recent U.S. restrictions on importing certain advanced foreign-made robotic equipment may cause short-term impacts but could increase long-term industry uncertainty.
Unitree also faces fierce domestic competition as China's humanoid robotics industry shifts focus from showcasing superior movement control to developing AI models that enable robots to genuinely replace human labor.
Unitree acknowledges the risk of losing its edge in robot AI development, as the industry shifts investment focus from robots’ “bodies” to increasingly capable “brains”.
Follow the Facebook page: Thairath Money at the link -https://www.facebook.com/ThairathMoney